Jewish student sues UC Berkeley over assault by Palestinian supporter

A former Jewish student at UC Berkeley has filed a lawsuit against the university contending it violated her civil rights when it did not protect her against attacks from a pro-Palestinian student.

Jessica Felber filed the lawsuit in Federal District Court in Oakland on March 4, almost one year to the day Husam Zakharia, the head of UC Berkeley’s Students for Justice in Palestine, allegedly rammed her with a shopping cart filled with toys, according to the suit.

Felber, then 20, was a member of the pro-Israel Tikvah group, which had often clashed on campus with Students for Justice in Palestine. Felber was holding a sign stating “Israel Wants Peace,” on March 5, 2010 as part of an event for Israel Peace Week. The rally had been called to counteract rallies held on behalf of Israel Apartheid Week.

The lawsuit contends that the University of California financially supported Students for Justice in Palestine and an affiliate group, The Muslim Student Association, but tolerated its attacks on Jewish students expressing support for Israel.

“SJP and Zakharia have been involved in other incidents on campus to incite violence against and intimidate Jewish and other students,” states the lawsuit. “Defendants knew of this history of incitment and intimidation yet took no reasonable step to adequately control Zakharia or other student members of the SPJ.”